Mahima
The Karnataka High Court was inquiring about the availability of beds, oxygen and other facilities when the number of beds available for Covid-19 patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in city hospitals under government quota touched ‘zero’.
The counsel for Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) informed the court that 6 beds in ICU, 10 beds in ICU with ventilators and 32 beds in High Dependency Units (HDUs) were available as per online bed availability portal of BBMP.
However, within 10 minutes the counsel said that the BBMP’s bed status portal was showing ‘zero’ ICU bed availability.
However, the Chief Health Officer told the bench that the bed position is dynamic and more beds will be available as soon as private hospitals discharge non-Covid-19 patients.
He also notified that team of officials are visiting private hospitals to make beds available for Covid-19 patients as per the government’s directive.
The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar termed the Covid-19 situation in the city as ‘shocking and appears to be scary’.
The bench directed the state government to immediately take measures in identifying ICU beds in hospitals of neighbouring districts.
The bench further directed the government to set up help desks outside every Covid-19 hospital for helping and guiding patients and their relatives about availability of beds and remdesivir injections.